2004 Events

Public Forum 2004

Stem Cells: The Science, The Policy, The PossibilitiesOctober 18, 2004
Over 750 members of the community, local scientists, and elected officials came together to explore the issues surrounding stem cell research at FOSEP’s first annual Public Forum. The event featured three expert panelists: Science, therapies, and research challenges Lawrence Goldstein, Ph.D. Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Chair of Public Policy, American Society for Cell BiologyEthical Considerations Jeffery Kahn, Ph.D., M.P.H. Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of MinnesotaStem Cell Policy: What are our options? Anna Mastroianni, J.D., M.P.H. Assistant professor of Law and Public Health Genetics and Greenwall Faculty Scholar on Bioethics, University of Washington
blastocyst2.gif blastocyst Click here for the video of the Forum courtesy of the Seattle Channel Click here to see our topics page on Stem Cells and Cloning

Embryos and Cloning in Perspective:

The History of the ControversiesJane Maienschein, Ph.D. Regent’s Professor and Director of the Center for Biology and SocietyArizona State UniversityMay 14, 2004
When a new scientific advance breaks through the news barrier and enters public awareness, as cloning Dolly or culturing stem cell lines has done, questions arise. We often hear a range of views from enthusiasm to outrage. Careful reflection to assess what is really at issue and what, for that matter, is really new is woefully rare. Surely, it often seems, we are on the brink of a new cliff, about to plunge off or to soar away to new heights. Yet history’s lessons teach us that momentary novelties often turn to routine and that the cliff really is often just a bump in the road. In vitro fertilization, for example, was hotly contested in the late 1970s but is now both a routine treatment for infertility and a potential source of pre-implantation embryos for research. To put our current debate in perspective, we will look at the history of embryo research with a focus on cloning, underlying epistemological assumptions, and bioethical discussions. What regulations – if any – are needed to be sure that we don’t plunge off the cliff this time? In the end, Maienschein contends, we can learn a lot from history. Click here for the video of Dr. Maienschein’s talk (part 1 of 2) Click here for the video of Dr. Maienschein’s talk (part 2 of 2) Click here to see our topics page on Stem Cells and Cloning